Michael Ballack believes Germany coach Joachim Loew should have lost his job in the wake of their woeful World Cup performance in Russia.

Ballack, 42, who captained Germany between 2004-2010, is the first senior figure in German football to say Loew, who steered the country to the 2014 World Cup title, should have been fired after his team finished bottom of their group in Russia.

Germany’s Nations League clash with the Netherlands on Saturday in Amsterdam will be Loew’s 168th international since taking charge in 2006, but Ballack says his 12-year reign should already be over.

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“I was surprised, as well as many other people, that he kept his job,” Ballack, who made 98 appearances for Germany, told Deutsche Welle.

“For a long time, he worked with the team and sometimes you should say that things don’t work anymore,” added Ballack on Loew’s 12-year tenure.

Last May, Loew signed a contract extension with the German Football Association (DFB) until the 2022 World Cup.

However, Ballack believes Loew should have been “professional enough” to take the consequences for such a woeful campaign in Russia.

The ex-Chelsea and Bayern Munich midfielder says Loew should have blooded younger players rather than rely on senior players.

“It’s not abnormal that a coach who won the World Cup trusts the players with whom he was successful,” said Ballack.

“But that’s the difficulty, because he is responsible for that, he should be professional enough.”